Misha Collins is the perfect Harvey Dent for The CW’s Gotham Knights
By Mark Lynch
Is Misha Collins the right person to play Harvey Dent/Two-Face? Is The CW the right place for another Batman and DC Comics show?
It’s almost impossible to turn on The CW without seeing a DC Comics show on your screen. Naomi, Batwoman, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow are only a few of them. And these are the ones that are still on. You can’t forget shows like Arrow and Supergirl that paved the way for newer shows. Because of them, The CW can produce a program like Gotham Knights.
The upcoming series – which has been ordered to pilot – will take place after Bruce Wayne is murdered and see his adopted son form an alliance with the children of Batman’s enemies. Now that’s a premise that fans will be attracted to.
Recently, CW and Supernatural alumni Misha Collins was cast to play one of Batman’s greatest enemies. He’ll be playing Harvey Dent, the district attorney turned double themed criminal Two-Face. This was an unexpected pick.
However, it’s a role that this writer thinks Misha will absolutely nail.
Throughout Supernatural, Misha Collins wasn’t always the naïve Castiel. He played an Angel inhabited by Leviathan and Satan. Two characters that showcased how great Misha was at playing evil. There was also a time his character claimed he was God, and a time where he was a ruthless angel determined to “save” heaven and the world, even if it meant killing his brother and sister angels. Here, he wasn’t the Castiel we knew; he was cold and emotionless. Misha can switch personalities this easily, there’s no reason that he couldn’t do Harvey Dent and Two-Face justice.
It’s doubtful that anyone has uncertainty about Misha Collins’ abilities. Since 2008, Castiel has been a Supernatural fan favorite. He was so good that the Supernatural creative team kept him on due to his popularity. The question isn’t about Misha’s worthiness for Gotham Knights. It’s if The CW is the right place for another DC Comics show, especially one in the Batman universe without the Dark Knight.
Is The CW the right network for Gotham Knights?
As this writer mentioned earlier, The CW is full of DC Comics shows. This could turn into a case of too much of a good thing. People crave variety. While each of The CW’s shows are different, there’s going to be overlap. Some people will know that Batwoman isn’t the same show as Gotham Knights. Unfortunately, the casual viewer is only going to see another comic book show on The CW. This could hurt its own ratings or the ratings of shows currently on The CW (at a time when the network may crave higher ratings).
HBO Max is home for other DC shows like Harley Quinn, Titans, and Doom Patrol. The difference is they’re too mature for The CW. In some ways, that makes them more desirable. If Gotham Knights doesn’t have an edge, it may appear too similar to the other DC Comics programs and get lost in the crowd. Even fans that pay attention to what’s going on may notice too many similarities. Without the edge HBO Max brings, Gotham Knights could be doomed before it starts. And this would be a waste of a great actor like Misha Collins.
We’ll have to wait and see what the creative team does for their newest show. Here’s hoping The CW can strike gold again and add to their successful collection of DC Comics programming.
What do you think? Where would you put Misha Collins and Gotham Knights? Let us know in the comments below.